Calavera (Span. feminine noun) = skull. A travel blog with a love of culture, dark tourism and the unconventional.

Bio: Anatomy of the Travelling Calavera

I’m Polly, a freelance journalist with two years’ previous experience in the travel industry. When I’m not writing for the likes of The New European and Running in Heels, or reviewing theatre shows and comedy for Everything Theatre and Funny Women, you’ll find me wandering around art galleries, shopping for second-hand books and vintage photos, drinking tea and – of course – planning my next adventure.

I challenged myself to start this site back in January 2013 (though I wasn’t a total newcomer to the blogging world – I used to write a fashion blog). Since then, I’ve been cited in an Icelandic travel and tourism dissertation, plus I’ve won and been nominated for various awards, including a Contiki award for travel blogging, less than six months after starting this site.

My most popular blog post, Tips for First-Timers and Solo Travellers in New York, ranks #2 for the popular search term, ‘travelling alone in New York’. Meanwhile, my summary of trending destinations from the fashion industry became a National Geographic Traveller blog post of the month in May 2016.

Beyond this domain, I occasionally blog for the Huffington Post, where my Edinburgh Festival Fringe post for first-time attendees ranks higher than the official Edinburgh Fringe website for the search term ‘Edinburgh Fringe first time’.

Other external blog posts include a winning entry in the Jaipur Literature Festival 2017 blogging competition.

Breaking the Stereotypes

The tough questions I asked myself before going live:

Have I ever been to that much-hyped travel blogging hotspot, Angkor Wat? Nope.

Have I ever referred to myself as a nomad? Definitely not.

Can I wax lyrical about backpacking? No, since my backpack has wheels. Hey, I like to keep my options open.

Instead, I like to cover quirky museums, cultural haunts, historical sites, unique hotels and travel trends. My site isn’t exclusively aimed at either ‘budget’ or ‘luxury’ travellers, but looks at both extremes – plus the middle ground that so many of us aim for.

Travel and Mental Health

I occasionally blog about mental health and how it relates to travel, due to my own experience of treatment-resistant clinical depression. I’m an admin for the London-based Mental Health Mates peer support walking group (mentalhealthmates.co.uk); as a journalist, I often write about depression, and, as a Mind media volunteer, I’ve been interviewed by BBC News and Al-Jazeera about the lack of crisis care and the ongoing stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Ultimately I want to show that – with the right support networks and planning – trips can be a huge boost to wellbeing, and are advocated by countless therapists. Besides, as 1 in 4 people will experience mental health problems during their lifetime, many of the travellers you meet will be battling unseen demons, such as anxiety, OCD or depression. Getting away from it all doesn’t mean you’re cured, but a change of scene with supportive friends and family, plus a few distractions and gentle exercise, can do the world of good.

What’s in a Name?

As for the blog name? Calavera means skull in Spanish, and it’s become a recurring icon from the trips I’ve taken, my own experiences and the trips I’m planning.

As a student I wrote plenty of essays on anatomical art, visiting galleries to see artwork by Leonardo Da Vinci, Andreas Vesalius and Laurie Lipton. I also found that skull imagery is a staple part of memento mori, traditional paintings to remind viewers that life’s too short. For me, the concept of using your remaining time wisely, and refusing to waste it, is a big incentive to travel.

My ideal adventure would be visiting Mexico during the Dia de los Muertos celebrations, where skull imagery is celebrated rather than feared. Aside from the Mexican dream, you’ll notice that all things anatomical do tend to come up on the blog, whether that means looking at morbid exhibitions, graveyards and memorials, or unusually creepy souvenirs. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Start Here

The Fringe Festival introduced me to all kinds of people – like this man glued to a pillar.

So, what weird and wonderful travel experiences have I actually had? Well, so far I’ve…

Been white-water rafting in British Columbia with a Welshman called Taffy and walked under a waterfall

Needless to say, all views held here are my own and not those of my employers. All images, unless stated, are my own, and should not be used without my permission; the same goes for the text. All experiences, even the embarrassing ones, are also my own. I hope you enjoy them too.

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Hello & Welcome

I'm Polly, a British travel blogger with my eye on all things cultural and unusual, from museums to markets. I've experienced a metal gig in Reykjavik, seen a bone chapel in Kutna Hora and been to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe nine times. Next up: who knows?